I’ve read a boatload of police procedural/thrillers & I can’t remember the last time I was so impressed by a debut novel. Gobsmacking. This is a lean, fast paced story that serves up an intricate plot full of great characters with a generous side of black humour.

The book opens on the last day of the “Cremation Killer” trial at the Old Bailey. Det. William “Wolf” Layton-Fawkes has a lot riding on the verdict & when the dust settles, he’s lost it all.

Four years later we find Wolf demoted, divorced & living in a crappy flat. He’s tried to put his notoriety behind him but the past is about to rear its ugly head……literally. He & colleague DS Emily Baxter are called out when a body is found in his neighbourhood. What they discover boggles the mind (and stomach) of everyone at the scene. Suspended from the ceiling is a body comprised of parts taken from 6 victims.

Hmmm….probably not going to be solved by tea time. Wolf & the rest of the homicide unit get to work trying to find the owner of each piece. Meanwhile, ambitious crime reporter Andrea Fawkes is trying to make sense of a list of names she received in the mail. When news breaks of the body, its meaning becomes clear & more than a little worrying. The final entry on the list is William Layton-Fawkes, her ex-husband.

Buckle up, people. You’re in for a wild & frequently hilarious ride. The cops have their work cut out for them as they try to contact those on the list & figure out their connection while keeping the media at bay. For Wolf, the names trigger a vague memory & as the story progresses we gradually learn what happened in the aftermath of the CK trial.

Nuff said about the plot. Believe me, it heads off in directions you’ll never see coming. Somehow the author has managed to incorporate the mundane scut work necessary to solve a case without ever slowing the pace. Dialogue is sharp & each of these well defined characters has a distinct voice. It’s riddled with humour of the dark, often inappropriate variety that effectively breaks up the eeww-ier moments.

At the centre of it all is Wolf, a weary & embattled man who tends to colour outside the lines. He & Emily have a complicated relationship & he depends on her to keep him in check. Her character is smart & irreverent a strong woman who doesn’t care whose feathers she ruffles as long as it gets results.

There is so much more to the story but seriously, you need to stop reading this & get your mitts on a copy. It’s the kind of read you’ll resent having to put down. Highly recommended, especially for fans of Stuart MacBride & Jay Stringer.

One of those books that a lot of people are talking about and you go hmm. Can it really be that good? Well if you like your crime novels to be indecently clever, terribly addictive, with a twist of horror and a huge dose of dark humour then yep it really can be that good.

It was.

ANYWAY characters? Yep got some of those in here, some utterly fantastic ones, none of whom seem to follow your usual tropes or if they do they do so in irregular and unlikely fashion. With style. Wolfe well, you never really know what he is going to do. It makes it beautifully engaging. Taking a cue from a note from the author , I thought Wolfe was a bit Jack Bauer on acid with better occasional wisecracks. I fell a little in love. Emily Baxter his one time sidekick is well, she just is. Then the whole police team around those two have their own little weather patterns and externally you have news people(including wife Andrea – oops I mean EX of course) and possible victims and what have you, all entirely fascinating. Even if some of them did make me want to hide under the bed never to emerge again.

The dialogue crackles, the plot is beautifully woven to keep you guessing, although I gave up guessing around the middle of the book and just went along for the ride. It was a topsy turvy joy of a read that never once let up in quality or stimulation and it was a rocking rollercoaster from start to finish. With body parts. And blood. And death. And giggles. And Wolfe.

And WHAT an ending.

Ragdoll? Yep yep and yep. Is what I have to say. This time the hype for me was justified. Its just good fun people! Even if the subject matter is the stuff of nightmares. Oh and by the way, great take on human nature here. If you are thinking this is all popcorn no depth think again. Works on many levels. Many many levels. Can’t wait for more from Daniel Cole.

I haven't really been in the mood for any certain type of book lately, so I decided to make myself a TBR jar. That way, I can cut down my TBR list a little faster. I had a lot of fun making my jar, and Jensen sure did have fun watching me from below.So here is my finished jar. I just used a plain Mason jar and some bright and colorful paper. I am very happy with the way it turned out. I have just over 200 books in here..so yes, it'll take me quite a while to get through. And I'm sure I will be adding more as time goes on.

I am planning to review every single book I pull out of this jar. Wish me luck.

Do you have a TBR jar? Or do you have a certain method of choosing your next book to read. Let me know!

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